Bilawal calls for Dr Asim's immediate release, saying he is not a terrorist

PM Nawaz should explain if we are really fighting this war against terrorism, PPP chairperson says

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Saturday that Dr Asim Hussain is neither a terrorist nor he has a link with any proscribed organisation, demanding his immediate release on humanitarian grounds.

“Dr Asim is a political prisoner and I am unable to understand what sort of an image his arrest is creating,” Bilawal told reporters after visiting the PPP former petroleum minister and close aide of Asif Zardari at a hospital in Karachi. “He [Dr Asim] is not a terrorist neither have any connection with a party of terrorist nature.”

Criticising the ruling PML-N government, Bilawal called for reviewing the policy on the war against terrorism, saying Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should explain if we are even fighting it against terrorists and their facilitators.

“PM Nawaz should explain if we really are fighting this war against terrorism and I really want to know about it,” the PPP leader said.



Bilawal further said that terrorists are killing innocent people in the name of religion before going on to say that “Nawaz Sharif just wanted to become Ameerul Momineen” a term his political rivals use frequently.

Describing the current health condition of the hospitalised leader, the PPP chairman said, “The tests that doctors have recommended to ensure that no harm comes to this individual [Dr Asim] are not available in Pakistan.”

time for #PPP to reclaim rightful place as the only legitimate, federal political party in Pakistan.We must lead country out of this crisis.

— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) October 29, 2016

Dr Asim, Bilawal said, is a political prisoner of the Nawaz government as it is exploiting the counter-terrorism operation to weaken, bully or influence his opposition.

Bilawal went on to say that the PPP leader is not mocking his illness so he should be released on humanitarian grounds.

Regarding PTI chairman Imran Khan, Bilawal said, "PPP was trying to convince the player that it [protest in Islamabad] is a matter of national security.

Set up national security committee, PPP urges govt

Later, PPP senior leader Aitzaz Ahsan urged the government to form a national security committee of parliament. He made the demand while addressing a press conference accompanied by other party leaders.

Ahsan went on to say that the party has demanded the PML-N government to make the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) equally beneficial for the entire country, approve the opposition’s bill on Panama Papers and hold accountable all those named in the high profile leaks.